UK General Election 2010

Unfortunately I can’t vote in the UK’s general election as I live abroad and the postal system is such that I cannot possibly return my postal vote in time for it to be counted. Genius system. However, I have taken a keen interest in the election from afar and am quite amazed by how much continuing support Labour still have. If I am honest, I have an ‘anyone but Labour’ stance.

The reason Labour’s support is still strong, despite all the things you’ll see in the video below, is because they have increased the country’s dependence on government spending from 40% of GDP to 54%. More people than ever rely on Labour for their job. Another reason is that the vast number of people claiming benefits would also never vote Conservative/Lib Dem for fear of them being cut (rightly or wrongly). Only Labour would continue to tax and spend despite the terrible state of the country’s finances.

Call me cynical (and when it comes to politics I really am) but I believe that Labour have deliberately grown the size of the state to try and ensure constant re-election. You can see how little they care for democracy by the fact that 30% of the cabinet is unelected and consists of people thrown out of politics like Peter Mandelson.

In 1997 when Labour first got in I lived with a guy who was a Labour fanatic. He honestly believed that the privileged Conservatives were always going to be corrupt and only the ‘working class’ Labour MPs would be honest. I do remember telling him that it is power that corrupts, not someone’s background. I think my point has been proven. So anyone but Labour!

The sad thing is, the way our ‘democracy’ works, Labour can get less votes than both the Conservatives and Lib Dems and still have the most MPs in the House of Commons. In my opinion, we have to ensure that power is well and truly removed from them so we can start to urgently reform both the economy and our democracy so that no party can get so comfortable again!

PS My personal preference are the Conservatives, not because their ideals match my own but because they have the most responsible economic policy and a proven track record (Ken Clarke) at sorting out a mess. Whoever gets in will have to take tough decisions and piss off a lot of people, but it is a job that has to be done. Something Labour should have started addressing a long time ago!